PRSW 22: Max and Danny
by Mariko Azrael
Summary: PRWF. My response to the LiveJournal PRSW22 community. Max/Danny, any spoilers will be marked in the chapter's header.
1. Obsessive

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: I finally caved and signed up for prsw22. ; Most of these will be one-shots, but if one of the later entries is a sequel/prequel/midquel/whateverquel, I'll be sure to note it before the story. Also, spoilers for 'Never Give Up!' in this one.

* * *

Danny's really trying not to think about how close he came to losing Max today. But each time he promises himself that he won't obsess about it anymore, it comes rushing back in painfully clear detail.

_Bell Org's voice dripping with cruelty when he told him where he had trapped Max. The way his chest tightened when he realized that there couldn't be much air left. Pain wracking his body as the Org kept blasting him, and pushing it back because it was nothing compared to what the Org had done to Max…_

_… Max lying on the ground, not moving. Maybe not even breathing._

But he was, Danny tries to remind himself. Not only was he breathing, he helped him stop the Org. Everything turned out for the best.

But if it hadn't… if he had really lost Max because he was busy chasing a crush from his past, he…

"I don't know what I would do," he admits to himself.

"What'cha talking about?" He'd been so lost in thought, Danny hadn't heard Max creep up behind him.

Danny tries to smile. "N-nothing. I was just… letting my mind wander, that's all."

It must have worked, since Max is giving him a wide grin, saying something about how he's going to try and sneak a little of what Alyssa's making for dinner as he runs off, leaving Danny alone again.

Danny watches him as he goes. He's not sure when things changed, when his feelings shifted from Kendall to Max... but he supposes it doesn't matter. What does matter is that today's events made that fact very clear to him. And it's also made clear to him that this can never happen again.

He can no longer obsess about the past. Max is here for him now, and Danny plans on making sure things stay that way.


	2. Laughter

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Post series, but no real spoilers

* * *

"You can stop laughing now."

Danny tried to, really, as he took in the sight before him: Max in an oversized smock, thick gardening gloves on his hands and a sun hat that would have fit the Bison Zord. "I'm sorry, Max," he said around a snicker. "It's just--"

"Hey, you said you wanted help with your gardening!" Max folded his arms, glowering under the hat. "But if you're gonna be like this, I'll --"

"It's just that I asked you to help me with the garden, not my latest horticulture project," Danny finally finished as he took Max's gloved hands into his own. "You really don't need all of… this." He pulled one hand away, gesturing vaguely towards Max's outfit.

"Yeah, well, I think I'll keep it on anyways." Max shifted uncomfortably. "Not everyone has a thumb as green as yours."

"Whatever makes you feel comfortable," Danny said as he led Max out of their living room and into the small garden he kept in the front yard.

* * *

Even if Danny had said he didn't need it, Max was glad he'd had the sense to bring a hat-- it was sunnier than it had been the past few days, and since it was only nine in the morning it was bound to only get sunnier. After making sure he wouldn't trip on his smock, Max crouched over some violets. "These are the ones that need watering, right?"

Danny nodded as he handed him the spritz bottle. "Just make sure they all get some."

"Right. All of 'em." Max grabbed the bottle and promptly began to shower the flowers indiscriminately.

"Y-you're gonna drown them!" Danny snatched the bottle back. Max let out a frustrated huff as he sat on the grass while Danny fussed over his flowers. For awhile, neither of them said anything.

Then Danny broke the silence. "… Sorry. I shouldn't have shouted."

Max glared at the damp violets. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck… but then gently shoved Max in the direction of the daisies. "I don't think it's a bad idea, but I do think I should've taught you more about this before you gave it a try." He leaned over and gave Max a shy smile. "So… do you want me to teach you now?"

"Well, I am dressed for the occasion."

"Okay." Danny handed him the bottle back… only this time, he kept his hand on Max's. He could feel the warmth of Danny's hand even through the rubber glove.

"We do it carefully; otherwise the roots won't be able to absorb what they need." Max could feel Danny's breath on his ear as he helped him water the daisies. "See what I mean?"

"… Yeah. Yeah, I see what I mean." Suddenly feeling like starting something, Max leaned against Danny purposefully… and took satisfaction in the shudder that went through his friend's body.

Danny's breath hitched. "Max…"

Max smirked. "Yeah, Danny?"

"I-I was thinking since we've watered all the flowers already, that maybe we could… y'know…"

The smirk widened. Danny was never going to be very good at seduction-- but he was, so it balanced out. And Danny would more than make up for it later…

He left the hat and gloves on the ground as they made a dash for the house. Maybe helping Danny with the garden hadn't been such a bad idea after all.


	3. Losing Control

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Spoilers for 'Wishes on the Water'

* * *

Even though he was the leader, Cole was still the newest member of the team, which meant he was still learning about his teammates. However, even he had been able to figure out about Danny and Max's friendship that was so, so much more than friendship fairly early on-- which was why he wasn't surprised at all that when they went to find the Org that had nearly killed Max Danny led the way, body tense and face grim.

However, it didn't mean that Danny wasn't going to get out of talking about it.

Cole steeled his reserve as he picked up his pace, closing the distance between himself and Danny. It was strange, Danny leading the way to the fight for once-- usually it was himself and Taylor at the front with Alyssa not far behind, while Danny brought up the rear... with Max...

Gently, Cole placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Maybe y-- maybe **we** should calm down before we continue." He kept his tone level, not wanting to upset Danny any further than he already was.

"I don't want to calm down." Danny shrugged him off, not looking at Cole as he spoke.

"Well, you need to-- **now!**" Cole flinched inwardly at the sharpness in Taylor's voice. "Acting like some idiot who's lost control isn't going to help Max!"

That got Danny to look at them. His eyes were red, which contrasted with how horribly pale his face was. And while Cole didn't doubt that Taylor felt the same pang of sympathy he did at the sight, her expression was unreadable as she stared Danny down.

"We're all worried about Max," Alyssa assured Danny as she came up to him, squeezing his hand briefly. "But we're worried about you as well. This isn't like you."

A choked sound escaped Danny as he ducked his head. "I just-- he was barely breathing when we found him, and he wouldn't wake up, and-- and if anything happens to him, I-I just don't know what I'll do--"

"We'll find the Org." Cole placed a hand on Danny's shoulder again, and this time he didn't shrug it off. "All four of us." Alyssa gave Danny's hand another squeeze, and of out the corner of Cole's eye he could see Taylor nod.

"... Okay." When Danny looked up at them his eyes were still red, but he wasn't nearly as pale as he had been before. "Thank you," he whispered as did his best to smile. "All of you."

Since Danny was trying so hard to smile, Cole felt he should try to smile back. "That's what teammates do for each other," he reminded him as they continued in their search for the Org, all of them walking at the same pace.


	4. Public Dining

Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

Alyssa was going to have to do something, and soon.

Because even though it was nice that all five of them had gone out to eat at the restaurant she'd been wanting to visit for the past month, even though she really was happy that Max and Danny had finally admitted their feelings to each other (if not the rest of the team), even though it was adorable to watch them pretend their relationship was still their secret... it was becoming very clear to Alyssa that not everyone was as charmed by Max and Danny's public displays of affection as she was.

Max grinned cheekily at Danny as he stole a bite of his ice cream. Danny laughed, and proceeded to feed Max a spoonful-- and then he went quiet as Max licked the spoon in a way that... well, could only be described as suggestive.

Cole kept his eyes fixed on his own dessert, happily oblivious. Taylor raised an eyebrow.

Alyssa sighed mentally.

She was going to have to do something soon, because if she didn't Taylor was going to say something not so much mean as very blunt (i.e., 'Get a room already'). And then Max would try to convince them that he and Danny weren't like that. Then Taylor would tell him to stop being such a kid and just admit that he and Danny liked each other, and well, things would just get worse from there.

"Cole, don't you think we should head back to the Animarium?" Alyssa left a tip on the table as she spoke. "Red Lion's probably getting lonely without you."

"Sure!" Cole immediately brightened at the mentioning of his Zord as he bounded from the table, followed by Taylor. Max and Danny stood up, but Alyssa blocked their way.

"The park is really pretty this time of evening. If I wanted to go on a date, that's where I'd go."

Danny blinked at her. Max spluttered. "We're not--"

"Of course you're not." Alyssa began to rummage in her purse for her money. "But if you were, it's nice and quiet and far away from the rest of us. Especially Taylor." With that, Alyssa went to pay the bill-- and noticed Max and Danny heading in the direction of the park.

Alyssa felt herself grin as she handed over the money, feeling more than a little accomplished.


	5. Warmth

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: A very small spoiler for 'Never Give Up'. And you can thank megthelegend form Max's gift idea.

* * *

No matter what the weather was like in Turtle Cove, it always felt like it was summer on the Animarium, which meant the Rangers wore a lot of light colors and thin fabrics. Unfortunately, no one had informed Danny Delgado of this when he joined the team.

"Danny, just take off your shirt before you die of heat stroke." Max watched from his bed with increasing irritation as Danny tried to pretend he wasn't sweltering-- and inbetween the warm night air and his flannel pajamas, failing miserably.

Max's new roommate reached for his glasses, sitting up long enough to smile at him. It might have been convincing if it weren't for the fact that Danny was soaked in sweat. "I'm fine, really." He took off the glasses again and settled back down. "There's a nice breeze tonight, so I'm not hot at all."

Max stared up at the trees that served as their roof. Not a single leaf was so much as rustling. _Right. Breezy._ If it weren't for the fact that Danny was at least three sizes bigger than him, Max would have offered him one of his shirts. And asking the girls if Danny could borrow their sleeping clothes was not going to happen. Ever. He supposed he could ask Cole, but considering his upbringing there was a good chance he just slept in the nude (and that was a mental image Max had **not** needed, thank you very much). So there really didn't seem to be any other option aside from getting Danny to strip.

"Look, Danny, we're both guys." He leaned forward. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, I promise." Max's tone was light, joking-- and then he noticed Danny was being very, very quiet.

Oh. Well, that explained it. Considering how shy Danny was about everything else, it really wasn't that surprising that he was shy about his body, too. Now all that remained was what Max was going to do about that…

Max had been lying in bed for what felt like hours, watching the leaves not move and listening to Danny snore when it finally hit him.

* * *

Max had never been big on clothes shopping, especially by himself, but the last thing he needed was to let anyone else in on his plan. He flipped through the racks, hoping to find something that would at least fit Danny-- and then something caught his eye. Something loud. Something tacky.

Something perfect.

* * *

"This is for you," Max said, not bothering to explain any further as he tossed the shirt to Danny. "So that you don't get too warm at night."

Danny looked at the shirt, then Max. "A-are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have bought it if I wasn't." Max motioned towards the shirt. "So c'mon, I wanna see what you look like in it."

Max was suddenly aware that Danny was already dressed for bed as his teammate eyed the shirt carefully… and then broke out into a tentative grin. "I guess it couldn't hurt to change my shirt here. A-and it is nothing you haven't seen before, right?"

He grinned back. "Exactly." Max watched on as Danny turned away from him, unbuttoning his pajama top…

And Max could see the well-defined muscles move under Danny's skin as he shed the top, bending over just enough to tug on the shirt--

"Max?" Danny was wearing the short-sleeved shirt now. "Are you okay? Your face is flushed."

"Um, yeah!" Max was aware he was probably talking too fast to be convincing, but oh well. "We should get ready for bed," he added as he quickly changed, very aware of Danny's presence as he did do. He collapsed on his bunk as Danny sat gently down on his, putting away his glasses.

"Thank you for the shirt," Danny said gratefully as he propped up his pillow. "This helps-- a lot."

It wasn't until Danny was asleep that Max dared to sneak a peek at him. The sheets were only pulled up to Danny's waist, giving Max a good view of the text of the shirt: 'Hot Stuff'.

Max was inclined to agree.


	6. Animals

Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

"g'morning, Alyssa."

"Good morning, Danny!" Alyssa chirped back, too busy making pancakes to look up. She could hear him plop down on the kitchen bench, however. "Did you sleep well?"

Danny answered her with a yawn.

Alyssa bit back a smile. It was really, really tempting to ask if Max had kept him up (again), but somehow she resisted. Considering how long it'd taken for Danny to realize he cared for Max in the first place, the last thing she wanted was to make him feel uncomfortable. So she kept quiet as she piled a few pancakes on Danny's favorite plate, applying a liberal amount of syrup. She carried his helping to the table, finally glancing up at him to offer a quick smile--

And she dropped the pancakes.

"A-Alyssa, are you okay?" Danny had grabbed the plate just in time, and Alyssa would have thanked him if it weren't for the fact that she couldn't stop staring at the multiple marks on his neck and shoulders. They were red, angry looking, and about the size of a person's mouth…

"I'm fine, Danny. Enjoy your pancakes, okay?" He shouted a thank you as she marched off.

She found Max quickly. "Hey, Alyssa, is breakfast-- ow!" He rubbed the shoulder where she had poked him, eyes wide.

Alyssa frowned at Max. "Just because your Power Animal is a shark doesn't mean you should act like one with Danny."


	7. Dream

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Spoilers for roughly the first half of the season, quasi-character death-- it's hard to explain, but I promise you that Max and Danny do not die!

* * *

Despite the grievous wound to his head, Bison was very aware of what was happening. He was aware of Animus falling, of having to seal his own teammate away before Zen-Aku could harm more people. He was aware that the Princess had been whisked to safety, so that at least one small piece of their civilization might endure. He was aware that he had just seen Lion and Tiger being killed by an Org that had just been too strong for them, of Eagle being shot down from the sky and never getting back up. And he was very aware that Shark had been dragged away by those-- those things that served the Orgs during their final battle. He had no idea where he was now.

Bison was also aware that he probably wasn't long for this world. He just didn't care anymore.

All he cared about now was Shark.

Because if Shark was alive, he still had a reason to live. They could rebuild their city together-- it would be difficult, and they would mourn their teammates for the rest of their lives, but they could do it. But he needed Shark for it to be possible.

As long as he had Shark by his side, he would never give up.

Bison stumbled a step, trying to fight off a wave of sudden dizziness-- but that was forgotten the second he spotted Shark. He ran up to Shark, lying still on the ground, but there was still hope, Shark was the embodiment of hope as far as Bison was concerned, he'd already lost four of his friends, fate wouldn't be cruel enough to take Shark too, he was still there, he was…

Gone. Judging from how cold the body was, Shark had been dead for hours.

His remaining strength gone, Bison collapsed next to Shark. He wanted to cry for him, more than anything… but he couldn't. It was as if some part of him had already accepted this. Was ready to move on.

Ready to be where Shark was now.

He knew Shark wouldn't feel it, but Bison took his hand anyways. It was almost like those lazy afternoons they would spend together before the Orgs attacked, nothing to do but watch the clouds pass by… expect Shark wasn't going to sit up, yawning before leaning down to steal a kiss.

"I wish you could see this, Shark," Bison murmured, eyes fixed on the clouds. "We did it. We defeated the Orgs." It hurt, but he turned over, tracing the outing of Shark's still face with his blood-stained fingers. "But I'll be with you soon. Wherever you are now, I will follow you, like I always have before." Bison summoned what was left of his strength, kissing Shark gently. "Because I love you." And with that final promise, Bison was finally able to let go… to go where Shark was…

_Except he couldn't find him. He kept looking, but it was never him, and he needed to find him, he'd promised he'd be there, and he needed him, and--_

"Danny." Max's voice was thick with sleep-- and irritation. "Why is your hand on my face?"

Danny blinked at Max, not sure of anything-- and then reality came back. "Oh, sorry," he whispered as he removed said appendage from Max. "I think I was having a bad dream."

"Oh." Max's face softened. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Danny smiled, curling into Max. Whatever the dream had been about, he was already beginning to forget it. "I think so. See you in the morning." As long as he had Max nearby, he had nothing to worry about.


	8. Watermelon

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Simple fluff this time

* * *

Danny worked in the Animaruium's garden every morning, so it didn't take him long to realize that something was amiss. Upon further inspection, he discovered that one of the larger watermelons was gone. Now he knew what was missing from his garden, all he had to do know was figure out who the culprit was.

It couldn't be Alyssa. She was too nice. And Taylor was such a workaholic that, on more than one occasion, the rest of them had been forced to wrestle her down to a chair just to make sure she would eat. Cole would help himself sometimes when he was swinging around-- but just to the bananas and nothing else. Merrick didn't live with them and Princess Shayla was, well, the Princess. That only left...

"Max." Danny knelt down to the spot where the watermelon had been and found a note written in Max's messy writing. _Dear Danny, I couldn't find my bowling ball so I used one of your melons for a substitute, knew you wouldn't mind! Love, Max._

_PS- I also borrowed your eggplants as pins._

Danny sat there for awhile... and then he stood up slowly, body language serene. "I love you too," he admitted as he folded the note and put it in his jacket pocket.

It didn't mean Max wasn't going to get the talking to of his life once Danny found him, though.


End file.
